Heartache
by Knightrunner
Summary: After falling for an unexpected opponent then seeing him die Katniss' return home isn't quite what she expected. Will she keep it together through pain and love or will it tear her apart?


**Author's note: Random little one shot I wrote. AU since it never happened in the book and I don't know how things actually happened when Katniss comes home from the games.**

Long, dark hair blew in the wind. Your stunning grey eyes looking out over the edge of the cliff. Below you a long fall into cold, rocky, rushing waters. Your dark shirt is covered in dirt and your black pants have tears in them. Your bag, jacket and shoes on the ground behind you. There's an icy wind blowing, chilling you to the bone.

Your eyes blink away tears as you think back to that moment. That terrible moment when you returned to district 12, knowing that your mom, sister and best friend would be there. When Gale is missing your heart breaks. Prim tells you his heart broke when you kissed Cato. You gasp and run from the area. Soon you find yourself at your home. You're changing out of the clothes the Capitol gave you and back into your normal clothes.

Almost an hour later you're in the woods outside the district, standing above a cliff, tears spilling out of your eyes. You fall to your knees, asking fate why this is happening. For hours you stay like that.

A branch breaks behind you and your head jerks up at the sudden sound. You whip your head around, brunette hair flinging through the air. You're astounded to see Gale standing there, his short, brown hair messy and his eyes bloodshot, as if he'd been crying. He looked miserable.

Slowly you stand up and look at him, eyes filled with regret. You want to say something, but there's a lump in your throat and nothing comes out. Instead you just stand there, mouth open as Gale sighs sadly. He turns to leave, muttering only one word. "Why?" Before you can respond he runs into the woods, leaving you.

You want to run after him but your legs won't obey you. Instead they give out under you and you cringe as they impact with the hard ground. A burst of cold wind blows your hair over your shoulder, and nearly freezing the tears to your cheeks.

Finally you mumble the words "I don't know." You think you're alone since Gale ran, however you're startled when a figure steps out of the trees. Combed, blonde hair, well dressed, muscular build.

Cato.

You gasp and crawl away, towards the cliff. There's no way he could be there, you saw him die. You heard his screams. There's no way you would have gotten out of the games with him alive. You're overcome by fear and aren't thinking strait. You try to convince yourself its a hallucination and it'll go away but it doesn't.

He just stands there. Watching you. Never blinking or looking away. Slowly you stand up, taking a few steps towards him, unsure of if he's real or not. "C-Cato?" You ask. He nods slightly. "How are you alive?"

He steps towards you and though you flinch you stand your ground. "When we were separated someone paid to get me out and replace me with a look alike. It wasn't my choice."

You shake your head, backing away again. "But, how?" Things were getting so confusing. You betrayed your first love, the one you grew up with, for someone who you could never be with. Yet here he was, standing in front of you, after you saw him die.

Cato sighed "I'm sorry Katniss. There wasn't anything I could do. I didn't want to leave you." He said, his words sounded genuine. Your heart begged for you to believe him but your brain told you he wasn't real.

Slowly you walk towards him, ignoring the voice of reason in your head. When he was within reach you out your hand up to his face, feeling his smooth skin. I smile tugs at your lips, you want to just wrap your arms around him and forget about the world. He steps closer to you, so there's only mere inches between him and you. His soft smile calms you and in that moment the world melts away.

His lips pressing against your own. Soft, moist, and warm. Nothing in the world could ruin the moment. You feel his strong arms wrap around your waist, pulling you against his body. Your arms move to wrap around his neck.

For several minutes you stand there, wrapped in each others arms. When you break apart you look up at him, a broad, beautiful smile on your face and a sparkle in your eye. You finally have the chance to say it. The thing that you didn't have time to say before. "Cato." You whisper. He looks down at you, stunning blue eyes meet yours. "I love you."

He smiled and kisses you in response, and once again the world melts. The kiss ends and he whispers in your ear, "I love you too."

**Author's note: I'm thinking of continuing this. What do ya'll think? Should I leave it there or add more? Cause I kinda really want to add more.**


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